Morning links: Tag, you're it

Jason La Canfora of the NFL Network expects a record number of players to be franchised this year because the cost to franchise a player is down from last year at some positions as much as 20 percent due to the new collective bargaining agreement. Franchise tags had been calculated by averaging the top five salaries at a particular position from the previous season. But now a much more complicated is used, which includes determining the franchise tags at that position over the last five years as a percentage of the overall cap figure in each of those five years.

Teams can begin franchising players today, and have until March 5th. Canfora goes through possible franchise candidates for each team, and of course lists running back Marshawn Lynch as a potential candidate for Seattle. Canfora reports that the Seahawks and Lynch are deep in negotiations, and according to a team source, the Seahawks will franchise Lynch is they can’t reach a deal before the deadline.

Rob Rang of NFLDraftScout.com lists Arizona State linebacker Vontaze Burfict and Washington running back Chris Polk among players with something to prove.

Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel talks with former Texas A&M head coach and current Dolphins offensive coordinator Mike Sherman, who speaks highly about his former pupil quarterback Ryan Tannehill. The Dolphins hold the No. 9 overall pick and could be a landing spot for Tannehill if they do not pick up a quarterback in free agency.

About the Seahawks Insider Blog

Gregg Bell joined The News Tribune in July 2014. Bell had been the director of writing for the University of Washington's athletic department for four years. He was the senior national sports writer in Seattle for The Associated Press from 2005-10, covering the Seahawks in their first Super Bowl season and beyond. He's also been The Sacramento Bee's beat writer on the Oakland Athletics and Raiders. The native of Steubenville, Ohio, is a 1993 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and a 2000 graduate of the University of California, Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism.